


Not My Friend

by lalaluisa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beating, Best Friends, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Boys In Love, Broken Bones, Bullying, Caring, Comfort, Cute, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Loves Hinata Shouyou, Everyone Needs A Hug, Feelings, Feels, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Happy, Happy Ending, Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio Friendship, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei Friendship, Hinata Shouyou & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Hinata Shouyou Protection Squad, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Hospitals, How Do I Tag, Hugs, Hurt, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm Sorry, Kozume Kenma is a Good Friend, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, M/M, Minor Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Minor Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Oblivious Hinata Shouyou, One Big Happy Family, Original Character(s), Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Protective, Protective Karasuno Volleyball Club, Protective Kuroo Tetsurou, Protective Sugawara Koushi, Protective Tsukishima Kei, Sad with a Happy Ending, Self Confidence Issues, Serious Injuries, Smile, Swearing, Team as Family, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, What Have I Done, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23037787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalaluisa/pseuds/lalaluisa
Summary: Meeting Nekoma for a practice match is fun and always feels like hanging out with friends you've known all your life. Everyone gets along and is nice to each other, the atmosphere is light and with the jokes someone would crack every once in a while, nobody got bored.An unexpected new addition to the Nekoma team and everything erupts in complete chaos. Especially with the way that guy looks at their sunshine boy. Kenma's the first to notice, Kuroo the second.Hinata says he's a friend, but is he really one?
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi & Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 32
Kudos: 780





	Not My Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Finished that one oneshot I had planned for a long time... Didn't expect it to be that long, but enjoy!

"IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, MY FRIEND!!" Tanaka and Taketora were shouting to each other with tears in their eyes while shaking their hands. Beside them, Sugawara and Morisuke were chatting quietly with smiles on their faces, completely contrasting the tension between Kuroo and Daichi.

"It's good to see each other again." Daichi told the black haired male with an obvious fake smile on his face while his brow was twitching occasionally. 

"Oh yeah, it really is." Kuroo answered with an equally fake smile while both of the captains were clenching each other's hands as tight as they could. Even though both captains were on friendly terms, none of them could resist a good challenge. 

"Kenma! Inuoka-san!" Hinata excitedly waved at the two volleyball players who were standing beside each other.

"Awww, Shouyou!! I missed you! And drop that - san already! " Nekoma's number seven shouted while running up to the boy and lifting him off the ground. "Hey, Shouyou." Kenma answered his friend, looking up from his game for once.

"Oi, chibi-chan~!" Tetsurou cheerfully said, coming up behind Hinata. "O-Oh, hello Kuroo-san!" The captain of Nekoma grinned and ruffled the orange boy's head.

Meanwhile, Nekomata and Ukai were bragging about how much their team had improved. Not too far away, Manabu and Takeda were both sweat dropping when hearing them compare the teams to each other. 

The only ones not greeting the other players were Kageyama and Tsukishima but nobody noticed, seeing as they were having a heated argument of their own. 

"But for the King to miss, something must-" the blonde head grinned mischievously. "Oh no, don't you dare finish that sentence!" Kageyama shouted, a blush surprisingly on his face. One he desperately tried to hide. "Tell me, was it that little partner of yours that got you distracted~?" 

Tobio growled. "Like you're any better, drooling over that freckled shit you lo-" 

"Don't you even bring him up in that argument!" 

Both boys were practically steaming with fire in their eyes, glaring at each other with so much hate even people from far away made a big detour so as not to get too close to the teammates. "Oh stop it, you're behaving like little toddlers!" Nishinoya exclaimed loudly, Asahi standing behind him with a somewhat scared expression. "C-Come on guys, we're going to have a m-match soon, stop arguing!" 

Ignoring both of the boys, Kageyama and Tsukishima resumed their argument with even more heat than before. 

After everything was settled and everyone has greeted each other, Kageyama and Tsukishima still going on about the shit they've been arguing about for the past half hour, the two teams were still outside. 

"Oi, why are we waiting here?" Tanaka asked Taketora, who was standing beside him. 

"Damn that little shit..." Said male muttered while clenching his fists with a hateful scowl on his face. 

"We have a new player on our team, but that bastard is always late. Piece of shit thinks he's a god or something, fucking hell!" 

"So you don't like him, Taketora-san?" 

Hinata asked as he overheard the two talk. 

"Ah, no, you see, he's not really a team player and that's causing us a lot of problems." Inuoka explained, his hand on Shouyou's shoulder. "Oh, ok. Is he coming soon?" 

"Well, depends on his mood... oh wait", the brown haired boy exclaimed, retracting the hand from Hinata's shoulder and pointing at a tall guy coming towards them. "There he is!" 

"Damn, about time!" Kuroo muttered angrily. Nekomata sighed irritatedly and spoke up beside Ukai. 

"That guy is a good player, but his arrogance is hindering the team too!" 

Keishin sighed too and looked at the guy coming towards them. "I can feel that just by looking at him!"

"Sorry I'm late!" the guy apologized with a sheepish look on his face and as Hinata recognized him, he froze. Beside him, Kenma furrowed his brows as he saw his friend tense. He turned to look at Kuroo, Inuoka or anyone else who could have noticed that strange change of mood, but everyone's attention was on their teammate. 

"You can't keep coming late Nakajima! You're making us all wait for you!" Kuroo scolded his teammate angrily, running a hand through his hair in frustration. 

"Yeah, yeah~, sorr-" The boy stopped talking as he locked eyes with Hinata. Said boy tensed even further and for a while, everything seemed to stop. The only thing Shouyou saw were those piercing green eyes that looked at him with malicious intent the moment they recognized him. Like an animal that just located it's prey. The orange haired boy tried looking for anything that told him he was mistaken, but that dark brown hair with the blonde streaks in them, the bright green eyes, the piercings on his ears, three on the right, two on the left to be exact, and that height confirmed it all. Not to mention the name Kuroo just used. Standing before him was none other than Nakajima Takota. 

Upon seeing the ginger head, Nakajima grinned widely and, while nobody noticed, his eyes glinted deviously. "Shou~chan! Long time no see!" He greeted Hinata. Said boy took a step back on instinct and Kenma frowned even further, not understanding why his friend was behaving like that. 

"Y-Yeah... Hey, Nakajima-san." 

Both of the teams looked confused at each other, before Daichi spoke up. 

"Hinata, you know him?" 

It was Takota who answered, throwing an arm around Shouyou's shoulder and Kuroo certainly didn't miss the smaller boy's flinch. Whipping his head around, he locked eyes with Kozume, who had a worried look on his face. ' _Did you see that_?' he asked silently by looking at Kenma questioning. Understanding his boyfriend immediately, Nekoma's number five shook his head slightly and looked away. Taking that as a 'We'll talk later' look, Tetsurou also resumed to listening what Takota was saying, eyeing the grinning boy suspiciously. "Of course! We went together to Yukigaoka High School!" He answers too joyfully, whilst Hinata grimaced silently. Oh yeah, he knew that boy well... To well. After all, the scars on his body didn't let him forget about it. 

Daichi nodded in understanding and introduced himself, the others following his example, though Tanaka and Noya were glaring at him. Something about that guy didn't feel right. "Aw come one, you two. Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean you have to burn holes through his body with the look you're giving him." 

Reluctantly the boys followed Sugawara into the gym, but not before throwing one last dirty glare at Nakajima. 

While Hinata, Kenma and Inuoka went ahead to the gym, Kageyama appeared beside the brown haired guy. " You said you're from Yukigaoka High? "

He muttered at Takota, looking coldly at him, the latter faking a smile. 

"Why yes, of course. How else would I know Shouyou?" 

He was about to turn away, when Tobio stopped him. "You play volleyball, yet I haven't seen you during the match against Kitagawa Daiichi in Junior High." 

Staring at him for a few moments Nakajima burst out laughing. "Of course, I started playing volleyball in a team this year. I have been playing it as a hobby at home during Junior High." Those were the last words, before he ended the conversation and went to the locker rooms. Kageyama huffed and went to change too. 

~

"Okay everyone, we're going to start now if everyone's here! "Nekomata declared loud enough for everyone to hear. All the players shouted a 'Yessir!' and got into position. Takota was sitting on the bench with a dark smirk on his face. He was switching positions with Inuoka during the second set, and there he would be blocking Hinata. ' _Oh I know exactly what's going to happen_!' he thought, chuckling quietly. 

Not too far away, Kenma looked at his teamate for a while and noted the dark aura that surrounded him. He was just about to say something to Kuroo when the referee whistled, indicating that the game started. Focusing on beating Karasuno, Kozume forced the bad feeling he had in his gut to the back of his mind. But still, the scene where that guy had called Hinata's name and the latter flinched and tensed up, it was so strange. The certainly weren't friends, the boy concluded, peeking at Hinata through the corner of his eye. The knew each other, that was for sure, but they weren't friends. 

"Kenma, look out!" The boy looked up just in time to feel the ball smack against his chest. Ouch, that hurt. 

"I'm so sorry, Kenma!" Hinata cried, having served the ball right where it hit his friend on his chest. He dismissed him with a quiet 'It's okay' and tried to keep his mind in the present. 

He saw the ball coming towards him and stretched his arms out, setting the ball for Kuroo to spike. Kenma silently watched Tsukishima and Kageyama block the ball whilst ripping each other's heads off just by glaring at each other. ' _Jeez, Shouyou sure has weird teammates...'_

~

"Let's take a break, everyone! The first set is finished!" The players went ahead to their coaches to discuss the second set. They were both really good teams, which is why the first part had ended with both of them getting 11 points. 

"Kuroo...?" Kozume quietly tapped his boyfriend's shoulder. The other turned around and instantly recognized the look of worry on his face. "Have you noticed too?" He asked, both of them glancing at Hinata, who was chatting with Inuoka... or well, jumping and doing weird sounds like 'wham' or 'swoosh'. 

Tetsurou saw Kenma nod softly and sighed. 

"I don't like this one bit..." He muttered softly, the black haired male agreeing whilst observing Nakajima again. 

The thought of him being friends with Hinata didn't sit right and he just couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to happen. But before anyone could say any more, the coach called them again. 

~

"Can you keep an eye on Nakajima? Something's wrong." Inuoka silently asked his captain when passing by him. Kuroo just looked over his shoulder and nodded, whispering only for number seven to hear. "He's definitely not Shouyou's friend." 

Giving Kuroo a hard look, Inuoka went back to sit on the bench, Tetsurou returning to the battlefield just in time to hear the whistle. 

He spiked the ball accurately during the game, aware of how Hinata's mood changed the moment Takota changed with Inuoka. He seemed tense and more silent, stealing nervous glances at the guy who, strange enough, was grinning brightly. Kenma setted the ball towards Nakajima, the latter jumping, ready to spike the ball aggressively. Hinata and Tsukishima jumped up too, ready to block the ball. Kuroo saw the ball make contact with Takota's hand - Hinata and Tsukishima were already in the air - when he noticed too late the angle the ball was thrown in. His eyes widened and everything stilled as he saw the ball make contact with Hinata's face, sending the poor boy tumbling to the ground.

"Time out!" He yelled and ran over to the small ginger head, whose nose was bleeding profusely. His face was red and, no doubt, would be for another few days, given how hard Kuroo knew that bastard spiked.

"Oh my god, Shouyou, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you in the face!" The brown-blond haired guy apologized. Kenma saw right through it. 'He's not sorry at all, that spike was aimed for his face', he thought angrily, looking over to Kuroo who just turned to look at him too.

"Shouyou, are you okay? "Sugawara panicked, giving the boy a few more tissues and rubbing his back comfortingly.

" I-It's okay guys, seriously, I just need to wash my face! "He exclaimed happily, but his fingers were twitching nervously. He knew that this ball was aimed at his face, but he really had hoped Nakajima has changed. Well, guess not.

" I'll bring him to the bathroom! "Takota volunteered, glaring at Kuroo with a smirk plastered on his face. 'He knows!' , the black haired male clenched his fists, ready to wipe the smirk of that garbage's face. He knew that Tetsurou knew this was not an accident, that piece of shit!

" I can go!" Inuoka barged in, helping Hinata stand up. Kenma looked thankfully and relieved, when their coach spoke up. "I think it's quite alright if Nakajima shows him where the bathroom is, the others meanwhile can resume playing!"

"But coach-", Kuroo tried to argue, but Nekomata cut him off. "Is there a reason for you to question my decision?" The old man raised an eyebrow. ' _Of course there is_ ' , he wanted to say and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, his knuckles were turning white with how hard he was clenching his fists, but after a beat of silence, he sighed. "No sir." He muttered, not missing the leering gaze of Takota on him. ' _That bastard_ ', he almost lashed out again, wouldn't it have been for Kenma, who took his hand in his and muttered quietly. "This is not going to help us, Tetsurou."

After he had calmed down, everyone went back into position, Kenma flinching slightly when he saw Hinata's panicked and pained expression, so unlike any other he had seen. It was as clear as a day now: Hinata Shouyou, sunshine boy of Karasuno and friend to everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him, was afraid of Nakajima Takota who, might he add, insisted they were friends. 

The two teams continued playing, with Kenma, Kuroo and Inuoka glancing nervously at the clock every once in a while. 

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Yamaguchi asked, his eyes giving away how worried he was for his friend and teammate. 

"They've only been gone for ten minutes, maybe the blood still hasn't stopped yet." Ukai answered, but even he seemed unsure of his words. 

Sugawara and Daichi seemed to have a silent conversation passing through them, which ended up with Daichi laying a hand on Suga's back and rubbing it comfortingly. Koushi was a very kind-hearted and emotional person who easily got nervous or panicked. He knew Kuroo wouldn't question his coach's decision without a good reason, and if that apparent friend of Shouyou was the reason, leaving him with Hinata left him very anxious. 

"Well... Okay..." Yamaguchi uncertainly agreed, but not before looking at the clock again. 

Inuoka and Tetsurou locked gazes with Kenma, who seemed as nervous as the two themselves. 

Even Tanaka and Nishinoya were looking at the clock occasionally, quiet for once, and that was saying something. 

Nonetheless, the players decided to wait a little more, because maybe Ukai was right and there was nothing to worry about. 

~

"This is bullshit!" Kuroo shouted, slamming the ball onto the floor so hard that many flinched upon inpact. Nishinoya didn't even bother to catch the ball, agreeing with how the black haired player felt. 

It had been another twenty minutes and both Hinata nor Takota were in sight. 

By now, even Ukai and Nekomata exchanged nervous glances and it was Nekomata who spoke. "Time out! Maybe someone can-" 

"I'll go with Kenma!" Tetsurou instantly volunteered, taking Kenma's hand who had his eyes glued to the door, hopeful that both of the boys will come through that same door and apologize for making them wait. But of course, nobody entered the gym. Nekoma's coach nodded his head and by the time Kuroo turned to look at Kozume, his boyfriend was already at the door.

"Please find him fast!" they heard Sugawara shout after them and he gave a hurried thumbs up in acknowledgement. Then the door fell closed behind them. 

"Shouyou! Where are you?" Tetsurou shouted, while Kenma opened the door to the bathroom closest to the gym in a panicked hurry. He had tears in his eyes and his breath was coming in short gasps from exhaustion. He felt it. He felt that something bad had happened to Shouyou, to the boy that forced his way into the shy boy's heart and settled in there. 

"Kenma, stop panicking! We're going to find him!" Kuroo shouted, but even he was panicked himself. As he placed his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders, he was shocked to have them slapped away by a shaking hand. "I'm not going to stop panicking until he is in front of me, unharmed and fine!" The boy said, already running towards the next bathroom. Kuroo took one last glance at the bathroom before following his boyfriend. 

They continued slamming open every bathroom stall for the next twenty minutes and by now, the only bathroom they still had to check was the one farthest away from the gym. 

Kenma slammed open the door, his mind already drowning in endless possibilities of what could have happened. All he cared for was to see his friend, blood dried, a smile on his face and an apology for making them worry. A loud, high-pitched shriek escaped his mouth at what he found instead. 

"SHOUYOU!" 

Kuroo has never run faster in his life before as he heard his lover scream like that. His mind was already making up worst-case scenarious and his eyes filled with tears. He was never one to openly show concern towards anyone, but then again, Kenma was never one to raise his voice. Please don't let it be that bad... 

He opened the door and gasped loudly. 

In the bathroom, Hinata was laying motionless on his right side, back pressed against the cold wall. His hair was so red the two boys couldn't even see his natural hair color. And his body... 

"Oh god", Kuroo breathed and instantly fell to his knees beside Kenma who was chanting Hinata's name over and over again. "Shouyou, Shouyou, Shouyou, wake up..." He was muttering, holding the orange haired boy's head in his hands. Meanwhile Kuroo's eyes roamed over his friends whole body, bile rising up in his throat at the sight. 

His face had ugly bruises and many cuts that were bleeding, the most prominent btuise being on his right cheek. His nose was most definitely broken now and still bleeding. His uniform was tinted completely red, and both males were scared to see what they'd find underneath that piece of clothing. His left leg was bend at an unnatural angle and both of them sported dark bruises and cuts smeared with blood. 

His arms weren't in a much better state. They had many bruises and bleeding cuts, but what stood out most against the too pale skin were the ugly bruises on his wrists, indicating that the boy had been struggling to get free. 

"No, no, no..." Tetsurou whispered, quickly checking the unconscious boy's pulse, cursing when he felt how weak and irregular it was. Only now did he notice the wheezing breaths of Hinata and noted that he most likely had a few broken ribs. 

"Shit, shit!! That bastard, I'll kill him!" Nekoma's captain roared when everything became clear to him. That guy was not Shouyou's friend, that guy has been beating him up since Junior High. 

"Call an ambulance first..." Kenma muttered urgently, hands still cradling his friend's head and clothes getting dirty from the blood. 

He was seething right now, to say the least. For someone to be such a horrible person to go as far as to beat someone unconscious, this was unbelievable. 

But this wasn't someone, this was Shouyou. He could put the sun to shame with his smile and his character and innocent appearance could melt even the coldest of hearts. And to see him like that... 

Meanwhile, Kuroo took out his phone and dialed the emergency number. 

The moment someone answered, he practically screamed for someone to send an ambulance. The fact that the woman on the phone answered sounding bored and unfazed by his shout at all pushed him closer to the edge. 

"I SAID MY FRIEND IS UNCONSCIOUS AND WE NEED AN AMBULANCE, YOU STUPID WOMAN! CAN'T YOU SEE THIS IS AN EMERGENCY?!" Apparently this was enough to intimidate the woman, seeing as she quickly asked where they were and that an ambulance was on the way before hanging up. Huffing annoyed, Kuroo calmed down again and focused on Hinata." His breathing is getting worse!"

Kenma told him alarmed.

' _Shit, shit!'_

"I'll call Inuoka, try waking Shouyou up!!"

Quickly dialing his teammate's number, he waited for the boy to amswer. 

"Kuroo, what-" 

"WE'RE IN THE BATHROOM NEAR THE SCHOOL'S ENTRANCE, HURRY UP!" 

"What happened?" Inuoka asked, voice filled with concern and confusion. 

"HINATA'S IN A BAD SHAPE!" 

Not giving the volleyball player any time to answer, he hung up. 

"I-I can't do anything, he's not waking up!" 

Kenma felt the tears he tried to hold in slide down his cheeks, making Kuroo feel even worse than before. He felt his own tears threaten to escape, but quickly wiped his eyes. "It's going to be okay, babe, he's going to be okay..." 

Tetsurou slowly and carefully lifted up Hinata's upper body and gently pressed him against his chest. Beside him, Kenma took at least five tissues and pressed it against Shouyou's head injury and another few tissues on his nose in hopes of stopping the blood. 

A groan pulled the two out of their thoughts. "Shouyou...?" Kozume silently asked, removing the tissue from his nose. "H-H-Hurts..." The ginger head panted, eyes clenched shut in pain as he lowly gasped for breath. "I-I know, Shouyou, but it's going to be okay, you hear me?" 

The usually quiet boy tried to reassure his friend, but it seemed that Hinata didn't hear him at all. Instead he tried pulling away from Kuroo's grasp, wincing as he did so. 

The black haired male tried to calm him down, but to no avail. He looked at his boyfriend for help, who just whispered to give Shouyou to him. Without hesitation, he moved the orange haired boy into Kenma's arms, were he went still for a bit, before struggling a bit again. "Shouyou, hey Shouyou, listen. You know who I am right? It's Kenma, you're okay now, you're okay..." 

Hinata lessened his struggle, forcing himself to form one word. "Ka... Yama..." 

Erupting in a fit of coughing, he tried to catch his breath, head falling back on Kenma's chest, eyes threatening to fall closed. "Hey, now, Shouyou, what did you say?" 

"W-Wan-Want...", he panted, "Ka-Kag... Y-Yama..." 

' _Kageyama_?', the two lovers thought confused, after all, those two were always fighting. Especially today, Kageyama seemed angry and constantly trying to rip everyone's, specifically Tsukishima's, head off. They only time they had seen the two of them together was when Tobio was passing the ball to Hinata and the ginger head spiked it. But before they could question it further, the door flew open. 

"Kuroo, Kenma!" Inuoka panted stepping in and gasping at the sight before him. "S-Shouyou..." he stuttered out, kneeling beside Kuroo. Behind him, they saw everyone else too. Ukai and Nekomata stepped in. "Shit... What happened?" 

Karasuno's coach questioned, eyes wide as he took in the bloodied boy's appearance. Beside him, Nekomata's eyes darkened in understanding and fury. 

"There's no time for that, we need Kageyama!" Tetsurou shouted. 

"K-Kage... - Y-Yama..." 

Everyone stilled when they heard the quiet, pained voice of the small boy. Pushing through the other players, Kageyama came to kneel beside Kenma, who was still holding a tense Hinata in his grasp. "Shit..." Kageyama muttered running a hand through his hair. He helplessly looked to Kuroo in hopes of getting advice on what to do, but was shocked to see him in the same state. When he was about to say something, his eyes widened and his breath stilled when he saw Hinata - looking smaller and more fragile than ever before - curl and uncurl his shaking hands at him.

"Y-Yama-Y-Yama..." The boy whimpered, tears sliding down his cheeks. It made Tobio's heart clench painfully and tears filled in the corner of his eyes. 

Without wasting any time, Kenma carefully handed Shouyou over to Kageyama, who took the boy in his arms and cradled him protectively. Everyone in the room saw the way Hinata completely relaxed the moment he was in Kageyama's arms. 

"T-Tob-bio..." He whimpered, burying his face in Kageyama's chest, sighing im relief before going completely limp. Everything stilled and his breathing became almost unnoticable. "I-Im here... H-Hinata-boke... W-Wa-Wake up..." Tobio muttered, shaking the teen a little. But to everyone's horrifying realisation, Hinata's body was still and unmoving. 

Then the sound of sirens filled the room. 

"They're here... They're here!!" Taketora shouted, running out of the bathroom to lead the paramedics the way. 

Kuroo pulled Kenma in for a hug, burying his face in the soft hair while the tears slowly started dripping down his face. Kozume fisted the bloodied shirt and sobbed silently in his boyfriend's hold, not understanding how Takota could have done something like this to their Shouyou. 

Ukai was looking grimly at the freak duo, seemingly having an inner turmoil before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and opened them again, locking eyes with Nekomat who looked just as horrified as he himself was feeling. 

"This should have never happened. I am going to make sure he never steps foot into this school again." 

Keishin only nodded and quietly kneeled beside Kageyama, who's hands were shaking hard, gripping Shouyou's body protectively. Beside him, Sugawara was in hysterics, which was the main problem now. Hinata was unconscious and the paramedics were almost here, which meant there was nothing else anyone could do for the sunshine boy except try and slow down the bleeding. 

Kageyama was tending to Hinata with the help of Lev, who was actually serious for once. Shouyou was a friend of his and if there was something he could do in that kind of situation, he would offer all the help he could. Daichi, Inuoka and Morisuke were sitting close to Koushi, trying to calm him down.

"I-I-I sh-should - should ha-have known t-that some-something w-w-was wr-wrong", he cried, his whole body heaving with loud sobs and shaking uncontrollably. They should have payed closer attention to the way Hinata acted around Takota, but instead they choose to believe that everything was alright. And look where they were now. 

Kneeling beside the grey haired male, Ukai layed a hand on the trembling shoulder. 

"It's not your fault, Sugawara. None of us thought this would happen, and if it there was anyone at fault, it would be me." 

"B-But c-coach..." Koushi stuttered out in disbelief, the others looking equally shocked. 

"I am his coach and should have sensed something was wrong, but even with all the signs there had been, I did not notice anything." He explained with a hard look on his face. 

The four students looked up when they saw Nekomata standing behind their coach, his epression serious, but with a hint of horrifying realization in them.

By now, everyone knew that all of this had been Takota's fault. And in that exact moment, Nekomata hated himself. 

Hated himself for not realising sooner that something was not right with Hinata and Nakajima, for letting him go with Hinata. He should have trusted Kuroo, the black haired male wouldn't have ever questioned a coaches decision after all. 

"I have to apologize as well", he spoke up. "I did not realize the severity of the situation and therefore didn't listen to my team captain's plea, resulting in Hinata getting hurt." 

Before another word could habe been said, Taketora barged into the bathroom again, but now with a few paramedics in tow. Kageyama and Lev handed Hinata over to the paramedic woman, altough reluctant to let go of their friend. 

The silence was thick and filled with dread as the teams watched the medical team shout complicated sounding words at each other. It must be really bad, judging from the way they were shouting panicked. "Quick, we need to move him now, I'm loosing his pulse!" 

Everyone froze upon hearing that. Laying Shouyou carefully down on a stretcher, the medics carried him outside. 

Kenma wriggled out of his lover's hold, desperate to run after his friend. 

"Wait, Kenma!" Kuroo shouted, but the boy was already gone, leaving everyone else behind. 

The room was filled with quiet sobs and devastated people. Tanaka had his eyes clenched shut and refused to sob, though tears were streaming down his face like a waterfall. He was vivid and whispering 'I'll make him pay' over and over again. Beside him, Nishinoya was faring no better, hands clenched in fists as he repeatedly hit the wall.

The others were the same, Suga still crying quietly for his friend and the others comforting him. The Nekoma team had tears in their eyes as well, disbelieving of the brutality that had taken place here only moments ago. 

"Since we can't continue playing, who wants to come with us to the hospital?" 

Ukai questioned, slightly surprised when everyone lifted their hands. 

He smiled to himself, grateful when he felt Nekomata's hand clasp around his shoulder. "I think we are all worried about your student, Ukai." 

Taketora, Tanaka, Nishinoya and Lev looked at each other with a hard expression before turning to the two coaches. "If you don't mind, coach, we'll come a bit later." Nishinoya smiled and Taketora continued, his energetic voice filled with fury. "That's right, after all, we still have to find someone." 

Tsukishima, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up for the first time. He clearly wouldn't admit it, but seeing his usually energetic and lively teammate reduced to this really shocked him. Because Hinata Shouyou was never silent. He was always moving, doing something, but never was he so still and quiet. "I think I would really enjoy accompanying you. We wouldn't want you four to be charged for murder now, would we?" 

The surprise on everyone's face was priceless, neither Nekoma nir Karasuno woukd have thought Tsukishima would accompany ( _help find the bastard_ ) them.

Yuu recovered quickly from his wide eyed expression and grinned with glowing eyes." We definitely would need someone like you, Tsukishima." 

Seeing as everyone already made a decision on their own, Nekomata and Ukai nodded dumbfounded and turned to the rest. 

"We'll go with you, coach", Nobuyuki said, everyone nodding their heads in agreement. 

No one spoke as everyone shuffled out of the room, Daichi slinging an arm around Sugawara and holding him close, and Lev trying to comfort a crying Inuoka who was shaking badly whilst trying not to cry himself. Kuroo was already in front of the school, waiting by the bus. 

"The ambulance is already gone, Kenma just texted me and said they're almost there." His voice was unusually quiet, raspy even as he rubbed his eyes profusely. Everyone, Karasuno and Nekoma players alike, took a seat in Nekoma's team bus after telling Nishinoya, Tsukishima, Tanake, Taketora and Lev to find Nakajima and beat him up good. 

Now that everyone was seated, it went silent once again and they drove off towards the hospital. No one said a word during the ride, theur hearts going out to the boy that shone brighter than the sun. 

"I... I don't understand... Why d-didn't he say anything...?" Sugawara's voice, thick with tears, cracked as he leaned into Daichi's warm embrace. Karasuno's captain held his best friend tightly, his own eyes clenched shut as he fought against his tears. 

"... He didn't want us to worry... I guess...". Kuroo's voice was sad and defeated, quiet as he looked out of the window, watching the rain drops on it slide down. The sky was grey, there was no sun and it was windy, mirroring everyone's devastated mood. 

As nobody answered, Nekoma's captain averted his eyes and froze when he saw everyone's pair of eyes being directed at him. "... Are y-you alright?", Inuoka questioned his teammate, faring no better than Koushi. His eyes were red and so was his nose, his skin sickly pale and moist from all the tears. Tetsurou grimaced and resumed watching the raindrops. "No, I'm not...", he answered after what seemed like an eternity. Nonody was surprised by that answer, and if they were they didn't show it. The only one who seemed surprised was Nekomata, since he knew the boy to be their teams strength pillar and was supposed to be emotionally the strongest, but if even he wasn't alright, the others must have it even worse. The coach sighed guiltily. He should have trusted Kuroo when he noticed something was wrong, and he definitely should have seen the way Hinata had behaved around Nakajima. "... Nobody could have known, being a coach myself it was my responsibility to look out for the kid." Ukai said and Nekomata wondered if he had voiced his thoughts out loud. "But it isn't yours either. Nakajima will get what he deserves, I promise." With a nod, both coaches heard their teams talk. 

"I'm just.. So, so angry! Angry at Nakajima, angry at Shouyou and angry at myself! I knew Nakajima was an asshole but to do this to someone as nice as Shouyou... That's inhumane, it's so..." 

"He's a monster..." Yamaguchi whispered. Kuroo nodded and continued. 

"And Shouyou should have said something, anything so we could help! But he was terrified and I noticed, yet couldn't anything...! I-I just-" The black haired male dissolved in angry sobs, wiping his thoroughly, to no avail. Bith teams were shocked at the captains open display of emotions. He always seemed like complete badass, his only emotions being smugness, happiness, determination and the fact that everyone thought of him as the coolest senpai. 

Hearing Kuroo's sobs shattered everyone's resolve and as the bus neared the hospital, there wasn't a single dry eye left. 

~

"Where the hell could that asshole be?" Nishinoya roared aggravated as he, Tanaka, Taketora, Tsukishima and Lev went to find Nakajima. "I can't believe I missed this! This piece of shit is getting a real good beating from me!!" Taketora and Tanaka bouth shouted and ran down the hall, the others following not too far behind. Tsukishima was silent for once, though inside he was just as furious as the others. It's true that he didn't show any emotions towards his teammates other than sass, but anyone who dared hurt them deserved death. 

Especially the 24/7 happy boy, who was like the baby of the team, despite being the oldest of the first years. 

Lev was walking a little bit slower, behind everyone else as he desperately wiped away his tears. Hinata meant really much to him, he was a dear friend Lev had the luck of befriending and Shouyou always comforted him when he felt insecure about his height. 

He was furious, so furious at Nakajima, but his soft heart just wanted to cry in a dark corner, let out all the sadness he held in after seeing his friend in that horrendous state. "Wait guys... There he is!!" He looked up and all the sadness left his body, replaced by bottled up amger he was ready to take out on the guy in front of him.

The others fared no better, Nishinoya's, Tanaka's and Taketora's face distorted into an ugly death glare as they ran towards Nakajima. The bastard was sitting behind the school on an old, rusty staircase, a cigarette in his hand as he laughed with his friend, looking like he didn't have a single care in the world, as if he just didn't beat up their dear friend. Beside him, three other guys were smoking and laughing. One had white hair and brown eyes, the second guy had black hair and blue eyes and the third guy had brown hair and green eyes, similar to thise if Nakajima. "HEY HEY YOU PIECE OF MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!!"

Tanaka screamed and punched the surprised volleyball player square in the face. Takota hit the ground and his three other friends looked in shock at their fallen comrade, then angry at the five males in front of them. Before any of the guys could help Nakajima, Lev grabbed the white haired guy and slammed his head against the wall. Nishinoya took on the smallest of the four, which was the black haired one, and finished him with a punch in the face and a hard kick into his spine. Taketora and the brown haired male were punching and kicking at each other, neither of the two landing a decent hit, until Lev jabbed him in the neck from behind. Taketora grabbed the guy by his neck and threw him onto the ground, stepping on his chest and squeezing. He only stopped when the brown haired guy was wheezing for breath. 

The last one to take down had been Nakajima, and Tsukishima finished him quite quickly. For a guy who tormented others and thought he was all mighty and shit, that bastard sucked at hand to hand combat, as well as basic self defence moves. 

"Now answer us, garbage can, why did you do that to Shouyou? How DARE you do that to our precious kohai?", Nishinoya grabbed Takota's hair and shouted in his face. They all expected him to turn away and not talk, or maybe apologize if they scared him anough, but then he suddenly started giggling like a manic. At first quiet and then louder and louder, until he was alnost shouting. Before he could continue tough, Taketora took out and punched as hard as he could. Nakajima chocked on the blood in his mouth and spit it out, grinning deviously at the five volleyball players. 

" _... His voice was annoying me_." 

~

Kageyama was sitting alone in the back of the bus with his hood on and a far away look in his eyes, indicating that his mind was somewhere else. Hinata was, despite all their fights and disagreements, still his best friend. That's why he's so angry at the ginger head. He expected Shouyou to tell him about his past so things like what had just happened would never happen again. And look where they were now. But Kageyama understood and that was the worst part. He undserstood that for a boy who had been looked down upon wouldn't want to tell someone he had been bullied physically, seeing as people would label him as weak and vulnerable, traits that everyone knew were not true in the least. "Kageyama, are you ok?" The setter turnes his head towards the sound and saw Sugawara take a seat beside him. The grey haired setter looked at him in concern, a silent understanding crossing his features. That's why Tobio really appreciated having him as his senpai. He wouldn't tease others about things they were uncomfortable with, and while he knew that Kageyama really cared for Hinata, he wouldn't go around telling others or embarrassing him about it. "That's... Probably a stupid question, haha... Everyone's anxious and shocked by what happened, even Tsukishima was worried about Hinata. But if you want to talk, I'm here" Koushi gave a sad smile. 

"..." the blue haired setter was hesitated. He indeed wanted to talk - Sugawara was too good at reading others - but on the other hand he just wanted to prozess everything on his own. 

"Why didn't that dumbass tell me?" He quietly asked after a beat of silence. His senpai looked surprised for a second, but then seemed to think of an appropriate answer. 

"... I... I think it's just not something you talk about", he started, but Kageyama already knew why. Still, he wanted to hear it from someone else. "You know how our Hinata is. He doesn't want to seem weak in others eyes. You also didn't want to tell him about your past as the King of the Court and what happened there, didn't you?" Tobio flinched slightly at the memories and shook his head. Koushi smiled sadly and looked away, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. 

" Did you notice? He hardly comes to us for help because he doesn't want to rely on others. Imagine how hard it would be telling the whole team that he was being bullied and the one responsible for it was on the team you play against. Shouyou is selfess, he wouldn't want to interrupt practice because of that, no matter how unreasonable that decision was. "

A lone tear escaped his eye and slid down his cheek. Hesitantly, Kageyama placed a hand on the third year's back. "Thank you, senpai. "

Said male only smiled and stood up again, turning towards him a last time. "We're almost there, by the way." 

Then Sugawara went back to his seat in the front. Kageyama returned to looking outside, seeing all the people run to get to a dry place and wondered in his friend would be alright. It was weird, not the being worried part, but the fact that wherever he looked, everything seemed sad and depressing. It wasn't like his stupid partner would die, but still. It felt as if he would. ' _He wouldn't dare... That boke knows I would just drag him back to the land of living.'_

~

After the bus arrived at the hospital, everyone rushed out and went to the reception. "We're here for Hinata Shouyou", Ukai spoke, voice tense and fists shaking skightly in anticilation amd worry. "He's in the operation room right now. Please take a seat in the waiting room, second floor."

Without wasting anymore time, they took the elevator and went up.

Upon arriving there, they noticed a person ready sitting there. Kenma wasn't on his phone playing games, but was just staring at the ceiling, eyes sad and far away. He was crying, the team noticed as they came closer. Kuroo rushed to his boyfriend's side and sat beside him. "H-Hey..." he said as calm as he could, hoping to get a reaction out of the quiet boy.

Kenma blinked a few times and looked around, just now noticing all the ither presences in the room. He looked at Tetsurou and wondered if he said anything. Sitting up from his slouched position, he cleared his throat. "... Hey..."

Nobody spoke for a moment, opting to look at the operation room instead, until Shibayama spoke up. "H-How is h-he?" His voice was soft and plain sad, worried, as he locked eyes with Kozume. 

He wiped away his tears as the others waited for a responce while holding in their breaths and praying. "Not good..." 

A sob escaped Inuoka's throat. 

"Nakajima broke some of his ribs, which punctured his lungs. That's why Shouyou couldn't breath properly and they almost lost him a few times. The wounds didn't want to stop bleeding too... I don't really know anything else, I-.... I wasn't really aware... "

Nobody uttered a word after that, taking a seat and mindlessly looking around the room. While many Nekoma players didn't know the ginger head that well, they all still considered the boy a friend. After their first match at the beginning of the school year, the two volleyball teams arranged countless of practice matches, trips and such to help everyone bond with each other. And it went really good. The chemistry was just right. Nobody ever really argued and if they were, it was mostly between Tsukishima, Kageyama and whoever got on the bad side that day. 

"Guys!" Everyone's head turned towards the source if the voice, seeing Nishinoya, Taketora, Tanaka, Tsukishima and Lev catch their breaths after running to the hospital. "Any news?" Yuu questioned, but everyone only shook their heads. 

"Did you catch him?" Morisuke asked after seeing Tanaka's bloodied hands. Said male only smirked triumphantly, before that smirk left his face as though it had never been there in the first place. At that, the volleyball players seemed to relax, eventough only a tiny bit. 

That's how everyone ended up waiting in that room, three hours later. It was dark outisde by now, but nobody even made a move to leave.

Finally, after an eternity, the door to the operation room slid open and a doctor, a very tired looking doctor came out. He was young, had black hair amd soft, chocolate brown eyes, bags under his eyes and a birth mark on the right side of his neck. He halted in front of the big group. "Are you all here for Hinata Shouyou?"

Ukai stepped forward and answered with a small yes, introducing himself and the others curtly before falling silent again. The doctor, Kishitani Haru, sighed and adjusted his round glasses before continuing. "Well, your friend is very lucky, that much I can tell you. He is going to be alright, that's for sure so you can relax."

Nekomata's lips twitched slightly in an attempt to smile, but dropped it when he couldn't.

"His injuries were very serious, he could have died, so as a doctor, I would like to know how that happened, if that's no problem." 

Nekomata spoke up, seeing as it was his student that caused all this, and explained what happened, not going into details. 

The doctor nodded." I see... I assume this behavior won't stay unpunished? "

" Of course not. He will be taken out of school and get an anger management therapist, as well as take part in social commitment for a year." Nekomata's voice held no room for protests, not that anyone deemed the punishment unfitting. At the moment, there wasn't any visible tension or emotion in his voice and posture, there was only confidence and authority with the way he was standing. Coach Ukai noticed his fists shaking though, meaning that he was angry. Furious even. 

"I see. Well, it's not my place to judge his behaviour, seeing as he is not my student, but I can inform you on how your friend is doing." 

"Yes, please do." It was Keishin, speaking up for probably the second time since they got here. Unlike Nekomata, he was often angry or pissed at something, so judging by his past behaviour, everyone thought he would be angry. Which was why they were so worried abou their coach. Because he wasn't angry, he showed no signs of being angry at all. His eyes were glazed over and his expression was heartbreaking to even look at. His whole face screamed ' _This is my student, it's all my fault'._

Kishitani cleared his throat. " Hinata-kun suffered a lot of internal bleeding. Due to four of his ribs being broken, one of them punctured his lung and prevented his chest from expanding. Which means that he couldn't breath properly and we put an oxygen mask on him to help him breath. 

His left leg is broken, something hard was used and smashed onto it, luckily his right one is only fractured. Both his arms have deep bruises and cuts on them, the bruises showing that he hadn't been beaten with fists but also with... A stick. The same goes for his torso, which had been punched and kicked repeatedly. His wrists also show signs that he had been struggling.

Luckily, there isn't any brain damage, but he does have a slight concussion....

We gave him a feew painkillers and hooked him up to a machine which will constantly be supervising his heart rate. That's all we can do for him, I'm sorry. "

" Thank you, Dr. Kishitani" Ukai, Nekomata and the two teams all bowed, to which the doctor nodded and excused himself. "You can visit him now, just be sure to stay quiet and don't cause any trouble. Hinata-kun is in Room Number 236."

Everyone shot up straight as an arrow and made their way towards the hospital room, their mood even worse than before, now that they knew exactly what the bastard had done. 

Kageyama was the first one to step into the room, his heart heavy and upon seeing his partner, his eyes burned unwillingly. He took a sest beside the ginger head and carefully, as though Shouyou was made of glass - _small and frail_ -, took his hand in his and traced they hem if the bandages, imagining how bad the bruises underneath those layers of white bandages were. The others followed close behind, Kenma being the second one to sit down on a chair right beside the boy's head. He didn't move after that, but the tears that escaped his eyes were proof enough of what exactly the setter was feeling. Kuroo also sat down, altough on the bed, beside his boyfriend and pulled the boy into a light hug. Sugawara sat down in front of Kenma beside Kageyama and with gentle hands - _Sugawara had a soft heart, his hands were soft and caring and just like his mother's were,_ Kageyama noted - started combing the hand through Shouyou's hair. A soft smile played on his lips, his expression was sad, and yet his smile softened all his features, the emotions on Koushi's face only describable as melancholic. It didn't take too long, and all Karasuno members, and Inuoka, Kuroo and Kenma, were sitting around the boy. Ukai also took a seat in the room, beside Nekomata. The other students either decided to stand a bit further away, go to the bathroom or buy something from the vending machine. No one spoke for a few hours and the time slowly moved to 3 am. By that time, almost everyone was sleeping. Kageyama had his head beside Hinata's chest, still not having let go of the hand, Sugawara fell asleep with his hand propped up against his cheek, Kenma was leaning against Tetsurou, whose arms were crossed. The black haired boy's head was on top of his lover's and both seemed to be peaceful for once. Nishinoya and Tanaka were on the small couch, snoring slightly while their limbs were entangled with each other. Nishinoya's feet were tangling off the couch and Tanaka was drooling over his friend's hair. Asahi, who had been quiet the whole time, just like Ennoshita, fell alseep after crying silently the whole time. He had been with Yuu before, but the guy was already dead on his feet when they were waiting in the waiting room. After he hit the couch, it only took a few second for him to nod off. He himself on the contrary had his eyes glued to Hinata's still and unmoving form the whole time as he thought about what they could have done to avoid all this.

Inuoka, who was one of the few people that hadn't fallen asleep since coming to the hospital, was sitting by the window and looking outside at the street, where a lone lamp was flickering, people were walking with an umbrella, relaxed, towards their homes and the thrift shop still had people entering and leaving.

At some point, Nekomata and the other kids that weren't as close to Shouyou as others were, bid their good byes and said they would come again in the morning, seeing as everyone had worried parents that were awaiting their kids at home. Nekomata had pulled a blanket over Ukai, seeing as he took a few sleeping pills to rest. He had been stressed, after calling Hinata's parents and finding out they were away on a trip and Shouyou had stayed because of the practice match, Keishin made sure to call all his other students' parents and let them know what happened and that their kids would be spending spending the night in the hospital. It was a very tiring day for him, so Nekoma's coach was relieved to see the man fall asleep. He had talked to Tsukishima after that, explaining that they were leaving and would come later again. He and Yamaguchi went to get something to eat after everyone else left, their postures more relaxed and tired than they had been all day.

"Do you think... Shouyou will be alright?"

The shy boy questioned, looking at his childhood friend. He was still worried after seeing Hinata's almost whole body covered in bandages, even after the doctor had told them everything would turn out okay. He couldn't help it, he had never dealt with this kind of situation before.

"That dumbass will look like a piece of chewed and spit out gum for a while, but he's gonna be fine. It's the Shrimp we're talking about after all." Tsukishima was clearly tired too, but decided to wait with the sleep until he got something for his stomach.

They'd ended up with buying a piece of strawberry cake and french fries and headed back to where their teammates were.

A few nurses have been coming by to check on Shouyou, and upon seeing all the other teens in the room, covered them with a few blankets. Whilst visiting hours certainly were over a long time ago, nobidy wanted to intrude and wake any of them up, understanding that it was a really hard time for them too.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi both fell asleep beside each other after sitting down in comfortable chairs and pulling the two blankets ket over them one of the nurses had given them.

It was quiet now, safe for the quiet chatter of both Inuoka and Lev in the hallway. Both of the Nekoma players were still high on nerves and couldn't keeo their eyes closed, instead opting to talk for a while, though it wasn't helping because all they wanted to do was sleep.

"Boys, would you like me to give you a few sleeping pills?" Kishitani, who took a walk himself to check on Hinata, questioned. Both of them quietly nodded after thinking about it, wanting nothing more than just close their eyes and fall asleep, relax and forget about the situation they were in for now. 

Inuoka and Lev didn't even have to wait long and soon their eyes started closing, until the two boys were sleeping soundly on a pair of chairs by the door that led to the hallway. The doctor smiled and also grabbed a blanket for them before leaving the room after checking up on his young patient. 

~

Hinata awoke to the sound of birds chirping. _Everything hurt,_ was the first thing he noticed as he groggily opened his eyes and blinked a few times. ' _Where am I...?'_

Shouyou looked around and noticed his one hand being enveloped by something comforting and warm. It was Kageyama, who still held his partner's hand in his own. His head was beside the entwined hand and he looked peaceful, relaxed. The boy smiled softly and looked around, eyes widening in shock when he saw all the other people occupying the room. Kuroo, Kenma, Sugawara, Daichi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Asahi, Coach Ukai, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kageyama, Inuoka, Lev. They were all there. ' _But why am I...?'_

Touching his face, he noticed the bandages that were wrapped around them. Everything cam rushing back to him and Hinata winced. Nakajima had beat him up, right.... 

Shouyou never expected to meet his childhood bully again, let alone in the opposite team. And when he did, he really hoped that Takota had changed and left his aggressive tendencies behind. Oh how wrong one could have been... 

A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning around, he saw Tsukishima sit up in his chair, clearly having yet to notice the ginger head. Shouyou was sitting up now and watching Tsukishima's movements with tired and pained eyes. His whole body hurt and his head was hurting slightly, but after waking up like that, he couldn't go back to sleep.

Then, just as Kei was about to stand up, their eyes locked. Hinata immediately stiffened and froze in the position he was in, afraid of breathing too loud. 

The blond haired boy was unable to read, his expression emotionless and uncaring as he stood up and slowly walked over to him. "..." Tsukishima stopped in front of his teammates bed and just stared at him. While his face was stoic, his mind was screaming at him to do something, say anything that would lessen the tension in the boy's body. He wasn't one to openly care for people, but he had been worried for his teammate, his friend never actually admitting it out loud - had been beaten up brutally and could have died. That's where the jokes stopped for Tsukishima. 

"... How are you feeling?" He quietly asked. Hinata looked surprised at the question, not expecting for him to care, but then smiled softly and whispered, looking down. "I'm okay now, thanks..." 

A hand on his head, ruffling his hair carefully caused him to look up in shock. 

When he did, his eyes widened further. Something akin to... Relief and sadness was glinting in the tall blonde's eyes, an expression Shouyou had never seen before. He kept his hand where it was for a while, feeling the ginger head melt into the touch, before Kei withdrew it and pressed a button by the bed. "I called a doctor", he explained upon seeing the confused expression on Hinata's face, and after getting a nod from the smaller boy, excited the room to go to the bathroom. 

Hinata was left alone, bringing the hand, the less hurting of the two, up to his head and touching the place where Tsukishima had ruffled his hair. "What the hell..." he muttered, not comprehending what that gesture meant just now, especially regarding Tsukishima.

A knock on the door and a nurse stepped. "Good morning Hinata-san, I'm here to check your vitals. How are you feeling?" Shouyou definitely liked her, she reminded him of his mother. The young nurse had chocolate brown hair and kind, hazelnut colored eyes. She wasn't that tall, about the height of Karasuno's precious manager and had round, black glasses on her face.

" Everythin' hurts..." Shouyou quietly told her, panicking as he saw her give him a tablet. He hated swallowing pills, mainly because he had nearly chocked on one once. "Don't worry, that is a sleeping pill. The other one is a painkiller."

Hesitantly, Shouyou swallowed the pills and layed back down with the help of the nurse, who was adjusting and checking the bandages around his broken leg, where a cast was attached. Then she moved to look at his torso, head and arms, taking notes and checking the bandages. Hinata wasn't sure when he closed his eyes, but when he did, he was asleep in a second. 

~

The next time the boy woke up, he felt a lot better regarding his physical injuries. They weren't hurting as much anymore, but he still felt tired, even after sleeping again. He didn't want to open his eyes, deciding that if they would stay closed, he'd fall asleep again. But then, when he was more coherent, he head quiet chtter fill the room, which meant the others were awake. Shouyou had heard from one of the nurses that they'd stayed up almost all night worrying about him, so he guessed it was only fair to say hello to them. As he opened his eyes, he noticed how abrupt it got quiet. Opening his eyes fully, Hinata saw at least 10 pairs of eyes watching him like owls. Everyone held their breaths in anticipatiom, and when he sat up to greet them, the dam broke. "My dear kouhai!" Nishinoya was the first to shout, throwing himself on the small boy and hugging him tightly, waryof the injuries all over his body. Next came Tanaka, who had ' **manly** ' tears dripping down his face. He didn't hug him, the space being occupied by Karasuno's libero, but he ruffled his hair and grabbed him caringly by the shoulders. "How are you feeling?" he asked, a worried and happy expression on his face. 

"I'm much better, actually, but I feel like I've been hit with a truck." 

He heard Kageyama scoff at that and was just about to retort something, when he saw the state his partner was in. Red puffy eyes that were glistening with tears, puffy nose, dark eye bags framing his face, pale skin and cold, sweaty hands. When Nishinoya pulled away from their embrace, Shouyou opened his arms and smiled softly. "Come here, Bakageyama." 

Hinata didn't expect the setter to do as he said, but was shocked when he felt his small body being pressed tightly against a taller one. Tobio had his head on the ginger heads shoulder and started crying quietly. "D-Do you know how much you worried our senpais? Hah, B-Boke?" 

The boy let out a fit of giggles at that. "Sure, only our senpais were worried about me." And then he hugged him back and stayed like that. Over Kageyama's shoulder Hinata saw Sugawara crying, with Daichi comforting him, Kuroo and Kenma, who both had tears in their eyes, Inuoka and Lev were smiling brightly at him and Ennoshita, Asahi, Nishinoya and Tanaka were laughing whilst crying. When the door opened, he also saw Coach Ukai, whose eyes widened when looking at him, behind him Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, who burst into tears the moment he layed eyes on Shouyou. "Hinata!" Yamaguchi ran up to him and touched the other's arms with shaky hands. "Are-Are you okay?" The bandages on his friend's body were painful to even look at, just remembering Shouyou lying there covered in his own bood, unconcious... Seeing the boy up that early was like a wonder, Yamaguchi had expected for him to gain consciousness in a few days again. Not that he wasn't glad. 

"I'm okay now, Yamaguchi", Hinata smiled reassuringly while still patting Kageyama's back. Tadashi slumped in the chair previously occupied by Sugawara upon hearing those words and managed a small smile. "I'm - I'm so g-glad..." he whispered and looked up to see Tsukishima's hand on his shoulder, looking at Yamaguchi with almost unnoticable relief in his eyes. 

Coach Ukai also walked closer and in an instant, the other boys made room for him. "I'm glad you're okay, Hinata" Ukai said after a while of silence and them staring at each other. The ginger head smiled and thanked him, bowing a little whilst sitting in the bed. He gasped slightly when he felt a hand on his head - yeat again-. His head shot up and locked gazes with his coach, who surprisingly wore an expression of worry and relief on his face. 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Now all eyes were on Daichi, who still had Sugawara in his arms. The question registered in Shouyou's head and he looked down in shame. "I-I just... You all seemed happy to play against it each other again and I didn't think it would be important..." 

"But you're our friend, aren't you? We care for you so much, Shouyou!" Inuoka almost shouted, not believing what he was hearing. But he should have expected that, with how selfless the boy was. Always caring for others and never for himself. It was as clear as a day that everyone in this room and beyond would kill for that boy. And to hear something like that... 

"I'm - I'm sorry, I know I should have told you..." For the first time since the whole morning, Kenma raised his voice. 

"Tell us next time Shouyou, you know you can trust us." 

Said boy nodded his head vigorously as his eyes fileld with happy tears and made his vision blurry. "Thanks guys, I mean it." 

"We know you do!" Lev and Kuroo both spoke up at the same time, laughing lightly. The others soon joined in and the tense atmosphere in the room morphed into happiness and fondness. 

"Takeda, Kiyoko, Yachi and Nekoma's rest of the team are going to join us later. Since you'll stay in the hospital for a week and won't be able to play volleyball for another three-" 

"WHAAAAT?!" Hinata cried in disbelief, eyes watering as he stared at his coach. 

Three week?! He could do so much in three weeks, improve his receives for example! And besides, what was he supposed to do with all that pent up energy he couldn't release by doing sports?! 

"Those were the doctor's orders - and don't you even look at him like that Kageyama. He is going to rest, none of that we-play-volleyball-secretly bullshit!" Tobio and Shouyou locked eyes and hung their heads while being scolded by their coach. The others were listening and snickering beside the freak duo, happy that everything would be alright now. 

Later on, the other part of the Nekoma team came too, along with Takeda, Yachi and Kyoka, who apologized profusely for not managing to come to the practice match and earlier to the hospital. A lot of crying was involved at the sight of their Number Ten, promises were made and apologizes accepted, so in the end, everything turned out fine. 

[The Nekoma team found out the next day that everything their coach had told the doctor about Nakajima's consequences was no joke. Expelled from school, anger management sessions and social commitment work - just what he deserved.]

**Author's Note:**

> Thank for reading this guys! Check out my other stories too!


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